บท 370: Chapter 447 Operation Thunderstorm
"We will never surrender, never give up! We will defend our homeland at all costs. We will fight on the beaches, we will fight at the enemy's landing points, we will fight in the fields and on the streets, we will fight in the mountains.
We will never surrender, even if this island or most of it is conquered and starved; of course, I never believe that will happen. Our empire's subjects overseas will continue to fight until the New World, at the time God deems appropriate, brings forth all its power to save and liberate this Old World. Long live Britain! Long live freedom!!"
Listening to Churchill's hysterical speech on the radio, Wilhelm sneered. "Madman."
"It seems Prime Minister Churchill is in his death throes," Elder Bloom, sitting opposite, smiled in agreement.
Wilhelm waved his hand, signaling his secretary to turn off the radio. "Elder Bloom, what brings you here today? I know the young Judases in the army are fighting hard, and I know you've done a lot in America."
At this time, the number of Jewish soldiers in the German army had exceeded 500,000, and this number was still increasing. This is not surprising, as the plight of Jews during World War II is well known. Even during those times, at least 150,000 Jewish soldiers served in the German army, and even Air Marshal Erhard Milch was of Jewish descent.
As for how these 150,000 Jews ended up in the German army, it was proven by relevant institutions in wartime Germany. Although Jews in the German army were initially purged, as the war situation changed, Germany began to relax its policies, allowing some Jews to enlist.
At the same time, most of the high-ranking German military officials during World War II would find ways to protect Jewish soldiers in the army. The Führer himself also had the privilege to decide who was considered Jewish. Many Jews or those with Jewish ancestry received corresponding certificates from the Führer, meaning that if the Führer said you were not Jewish, then you were not Jewish.
Germany's second-in-command, Göring, also helped his Jewish officers alter their ancestry certificates, as many Jewish officers made significant contributions to the German army.
Moreover, for Jews or those with Jewish ancestry, joining the German army was a very safe way to protect themselves. As long as Jews could enlist, their families would also be spared from persecution. Although these Jewish soldiers had limited promotion opportunities, this was related to the extent of their Jewish ancestry. Soldiers with one-quarter Jewish ancestry still had a chance for promotion.
"Of course, of course," Elder Bloom said humbly, then asked, "I heard General Rommel has conquered Egypt?"
Wilhelm smiled. "Elder Bloom, are you here to remind me of our agreement?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"Rest assured, I am not a forgetful person, and I always keep my word. But now is not the time. Elder Bloom, you know the Soviet Union is attacking Finland. Do you know what their next target is?"
Elder Bloom looked puzzled. "Could it be Germany?"
Wilhelm nodded. "Exactly. We have confirmed intelligence that after taking Finland, the Soviet Union's next target is us. They have even formulated a plan called 'Operation Thunderstorm.'"
Whether "Operation Thunderstorm" is real or not has been debated by later generations.
In the book "Secret Files of World War II" published in 2001 by Russian scholar Boris Vadimovich Sokolov, it is believed that the Soviet Union had long had a plan to attack Germany called "Operation Thunderstorm."
Hitler was a war maniac, but Stalin was no pushover either. Back then, Britain and France pursued a policy of appeasement, trying to divert the war to the Soviet Union and then reap the benefits after both sides were exhausted. However, they ended up getting themselves involved. While Hitler was struggling on the Western Front (at that time, the entire Western Europe was only left with Britain stubbornly resisting thanks to the Channel), did Stalin have a similar idea, hoping to let Hitler and Western Europe fight to the death and then...?
Based on this strategy, in March 1941, the Soviet Supreme Command formulated the "Western Expansion Strategic Plan," which was to attack Germany (the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact made the Soviet Union and Germany direct neighbors)! The original plan was to attack on June 12, but due to insufficient preparation, it was postponed.
However, Stalin and other Soviet leaders never expected Hitler's madness: invading the East while the Western Front was still unresolved, leaving the Soviet army at a loss.
This is the account in the "Secret Files of World War II."
From another perspective, even if "Operation Thunderstorm" did not exist, did the Soviet Union have other plans to attack Germany? Certainly, normal countries always consider neighboring countries as hypothetical enemies and formulate military strategies accordingly. For example, Canada once formulated "Defense Scheme No. 1" to invade the United States.
In the early 20th century, Canadian military intelligence indicated that the United States was studying plans to invade and annex Canada. This made the Canadian government and military very nervous, urgently gathering people to study countermeasures. Since the United States was much stronger than Canada, no matter how they defended, the U.S. military would have an overwhelming advantage. Faced with this situation, some radical officers suggested that if they couldn't defend, why not take the initiative to attack? If the Canadian army could invade the U.S. mainland, the U.S. military would certainly not dare to invade Canada!
According to the Canadian military's plan, on the eve of a U.S. invasion, the Canadian army would concentrate its elite forces and launch an attack on the United States from the west, capturing cities like Seattle and Portland with lightning speed. They aimed to disrupt the U.S. military's attack plans and thus protect Canadian territory. Besides the western front, Canada also set up eastern and central attack routes. However, these routes were not primarily for offense but for defense and guerrilla tactics to delay the U.S. military's advance as much as possible, and if possible, to raid other U.S. cities. Meanwhile, the Canadian troops invading the U.S. mainland would not aim to occupy cities but to destroy various facilities in the U.S. to weaken its war potential. Once the objectives were achieved, the western troops would quickly retreat to assist other units in resisting the U.S. invasion.
The question is: Was the Soviet "Western Expansion Strategic Plan" just a part of general military planning, or was it truly a national strategy? On the eve of the war, the Soviet Union gathered a large number of troops on the western front (which is also why the Soviet army suffered heavy losses in the early stages of the war). What were these troops for? Were they for attack or defense?
German Field Marshal von Manstein, in his book "Lost Victories," analyzed that the Soviet army should have been preparing for multiple scenarios, primarily for defense, but ready to tear up the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and advance westward if the situation changed. However, this still posed a significant threat to Germany. This is the German perspective, and another German general, Arnold von Roon, said the same in his book "Lost World Empire."
This can also be seen as an excuse: the Germans said, "We are not that guilty; we just acted earlier than the Soviets. If we didn't act, the Soviets would have attacked us."
However, even if this Russian scholar's claim is true, the Soviet performance was not much better.
"Even if the Soviet army had acted first, as planned, and launched an attack on June 12, the losses they would have suffered would not have been smaller than those incurred during the implementation of Operation Barbarossa." — Secret Files of World War II
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